It’s a little more nuanced than many articles suggest. 1. Rental car companies make a lot of money (or recoup money) off end-of-life sales. Yoyo-ing residuals makes it really hard to forecast that. 2. Also, rental car companies have leverage with repair shops and OEM Tier 1 parts suppliers. With Tesla, not so much.…

Yup. It’s like what we are teaching our kids. Pay attention. Plan ahead. Act. Adjust. Repeat.

I am in full support of regulations like safety, emissions, etc.

Yup. It’s like saying USPS/UPS/FedEx all reported lower shipments in January versus December.

6'6" here. The NC Miata is the only one I get in and out and safely drive. C’est la vie.

Some of us want the PHEV powertrain in a vehicle like the Grand Highlander. We currently have a Highlander (regular) Hybrid that is 95% station wagon and 5% off-roader including water crossings. Our family of five is outgrowing it.

Volvo Finance and its lease has entered the chat.

Came here for this. 1987 styling meets 2024 terrible outward visibility.

Outward visibility - the new luxury!

HEVs, yes. PHEVs no. The RAV4 Prime is still supply-constraint, even after all this time. It would be easier to take Toyota seriously about their support for PHEVs if they actual built them at scale in vehicles we Americans can’t get enough of. Looks like Jeep and Ram will beat them with a pair of PHEV pickup to…

That’s encouraging. We actually need off-road capability (ground clearance, water fording, etc.) 5% of the time for a large family going off-grid, and want a PHEV for the rest of the time back in town, 300 miles away. And I’m unwilling to pay more for a Lexus. That’s for others.

How does the plug-in hybrid version of this compare with the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk PHEV?

Roger that. We live in the City and trickle charge using the 120V cordset. The late start time of the statewide off-peak rates don’t make it easy, that’s for sure.

1950.5 to early 1956 Willys Wagon and Truck gauges:

True that. Or used public Level 2 stations.

Yup. And for all of Toyota’s talk of PHEVs, they certainly aren’t building many. They will sell you a regular hybrid, though.

I don’t understand your friend’s math. Was gas so much cheaper than the electricity (equivalent)?

PHEVs were a non-starter in Europe. In hindsight, the rules were laughable. The early European PHEVs had single digit electric range and since so many folks (like my German buddies) get a company car with a gas card as a perk, why plug them in if you have to pay for electrcity?

We actually will see more PHEVs in a year or two. The regulators updated the rules in August 2022 to allow more “strong” PHEVs. What’s that? It’s a PHEV with a 50 mile range and a big burley electric motor such that the electric motor moves the vehicle in nearly any “punch it!” type situation. Looks for more PHEVs…

Yeah, Ford made a PHEV Ranger for Australia. Bring it here!